APAC Contract Life Science Recruitment | Xuan Bin See

Singapore's strategic position at the heart of Asia-Pacific and it's deep pool of scientific talent has made it a haven for regional headquarters in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. To understand how companies are capitalising on that advantage, we spoke Xuan Bin See, Recruitment Manager with over 6 years of recruitment experience in the life science sector, spanning pharmaceuticals and medical devices, across the APAC region.

Xuan's Specialist Focus on Technical and Contracting Roles 

Xuan manages Engineering, R&D & Supply Chain Functions within one of the fastest-growing areas in our Singapore office and is building out our growing contract function as this it becoming more in-demand in APAC, following covid and candidate perception of contracting.

• Technical life science - Operational & process engineering, planet maintenance, equipment validation and automation. 
• Supply chain & logistics - Planning, procurement and distribution support. 
• Contract staffing (APAC-wide) -  Any life science contract position, supporting duration and function agnostic, whether that be 3-month project engineers to multi-year site leads. 

Serving the Entire APAC Region From Singapore

From our base in Singapore, Xuan Bin's desk manages search and contract deployments for every major APAC market, including 

• Southeast Asia
• India & Wider South Asia
• South Korea 
• Australia & New Zealand 

How Projects Run:

• Singapore regional hub mirrors the client’s APAC head office.
• One consultant owns the brief from scoping to shortlist.
• In-house research team supports talent mapping so methodology stays consistent.
• Fly-in coverage for onsite interviews when face-to-face is critical.

APAC Life Science Trends Xuan Has Seen In The Past Year and Future Outlook

Over 2024, the Xuan observed trends such as: 

• Sharp rise in contract vacancies as employers are chasing flexibility amid post-covid uncertainty. 
• Growing openness to contract work among professionals, especially younger demographics
• Diminishing stigma around fixed-term roles as workers recognise that "permanent" jobs are rarely permanent

As 2025 continues to be a tumultuous year, with the tariffs set by President Trump it remains to be seen how this will impact APAC life science 

• Industry stability with slow and steady expansion in APAC as new players are entering Singapore and surrounding markets. 
• Contract hiring will accelerate and firms will look to convert permanent headcount into off-payroll project roles to contain risk and cost as fears on tariffs and recession are lingering. 

Why Clients Choose Our Contract Service.

• Dedicated Delivery Team- Our specialised delivery unit manages every contract request end-to-end—handling and ongoing contractor support under a single point of accountability.
• Function-by-Function Specialists - Mirroring client structures, specialist recruiters in engineering, market access, QA/RA, supply chain and more.  
• Placement & Compliance Management - One expert hub oversee handling of local compliance, insurance, and payroll for each location, making sure you’re covered in terms of regulations and legal requirements.
• Comprehensive Contrator Payrolling - We manage all aspects of payrolling, compliance, and invoicing, so you only pay for hours worked, all through our self-billing portal-based timesheet system. 

Why Clients Partner with Xuan Bin See

Five-Person Project Team Hired & On-Boarded in Under a Month

A major multinational pharmaceutical manufacturer was ramping up an expansion project at its Singapore facility and came to Xuan Bin See’s contract desk with an urgent brief: “find five people in a very short amount of time.” Because the work had a fixed start-and-finish window, the roles had to be hired on contract, and the client wanted zero administrative drawbacks due to the timeframe required.

Xuan began by performing a detailed job-spec qualification to lock down deliverables and timelines. Instead of treating the placements separately, we assembled a full team of an experienced project manager alongside four engineers. We packaged this for the client as a single service package, this subscription style model meant one all-inclusive with no hidden fees, giving our client full transparency over the process and payment structure. 

Our existing APAC talent pipelines and dedicated compliance framework, we were able to onboard the full five person mandate within four weeks. Managing all administrative duties such as candidate onboarding through to payroll and compliance. 

Resulting Outcomes

• Full five-members project team mobilised in < 1 month.
• Full transparency over the payment structure.
• Full process handled by our team including complete compliance & payroll solutions and candidate onboarding experience. 

Ready to discuss your next technical or contract hire?

If you're looking to build out a function within your APAC teams and need contractors to hit the ground running. Reach out to our Contract and Delivery desk in Singapore via + 65 8282 8254 or email at xuan@barringtonjames.com .